Gavin Williams (rugby union)
Gavin Lloyd Williams ( born October 25, 1979 in Auckland, New Zealand ) is a New Zealand - Samoan rugby union player at the position of the inner three- quarter and the final art. His younger brother, Paul Williams is also a New Zealand - Samoan rugby union player. He is also the son of former New Zealand rugby international's Bryan Williams.
Williams grew up in the Auckland suburb of Grey Lynn and went to the Mount Albert Grammar School to school. Already at age six he began playing rugby club his father to play the Ponsonby RFC rugby. In 2000 he won the New Zealand U- 21 team, the Rugby World Youth Championship, and also debuted for the national team of Auckland RFU in the New Zealand Rugby League National Provincial Championship ( NPC). In the years 2001, 2002 and 2004, he was in each case with the Ponsonby RFC, the club championship of Auckland RFU, win the so-called Gallaher Shield.
When he was not nominated for the 2002 NPC Team Auckland, he moved in 2003 to Southland rugby, for which he ran aground in two seasons. Then he worked for eight months at that Italian second division side RC San Marco, before he went back in 2005 to Ponsonby RFC and Auckland RFU. In the year he won as a team captain with Ponsonby again the Gallaher Shield and played for Auckland against the touring British and Irish Lions in New Zealand. Auckland lost the game with 13:17. In addition, he has been with Auckland New Zealand Rugby Champion 2005.
After the 2005 NPC season, he joined the Irish province Connacht Rugby team in the Celtic League. With Connacht he also played in the European Challenge Cup, the second most important Rugby European Cup competition.
In 2007 he was nominated for the Samoan national team. Since he has Samoan grandparents and had completed no senior international for New Zealand, he was eligible to play according to the statutes of the IRB World Association for Samoa. Williams made his international debut in the Pacific Nations Cup on May 19, 2007, compared with the Fijian national team in Apia. The game won with 8:3 Samoa. Later in the year he took part with Samoa at the Rugby Union World Cup 2007 in France, but where they already were eliminated in the group stage. He played in the two group matches against the South African national team, the eventual champions and against the Tongan national team. Samoa each lost both games.
After the World Cup 2007, he moved from Connacht newly promoted U.S. Dax in the French Top 14 He also played with the club also in the Challenge Cup. At the end of the 2007/ 08 Dax took 13th place to second- last place of the top 14 and should have to descend because the SC Albi, however, violated financial covenants, had to descend from Dax this instead.
2008 Williams played for Samoa again in the Pacific Nations Cup and the Pacific Islanders on their European tour. On this tour, he ran in the two games on against the French national team and against the Italian National Team.
As Dax in next season's second last was again, the club rose from 2009 in the Pro D2. As a result, he moved inside the top 14 for the top team ASM Clermont Auvergne. Complementing player he was with Clermont in the 2009/10 season champion of France and came to the quarter- finals of the Heineken Cup 2009/10, the main Rugby European Cup competition. In the season 2010/11 he managed with Clermont to the quarterfinals of the top 14
Although he played for Samoa in the Pacific Nations Cup and on his European tour in 2009 and 2010, he missed a calling in the squad for the Rugby Union World Cup 2011 in his native New Zealand.